DNC conspiracy theory: Jason Chaffetz not running because he’s being blackmailed by Russia

It’s clear the Russians are living rent-free in the collective “minds” of the DNC. On Wednesday, the Washington Free Beacon reported that Adrienne Watson, the acting deputy communications director at the DNC, pushed a tinfoil-hat conspiracy that Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, is not seeking re-election because he’s being blackmailed by the Russians.

After Chaffetz announced he would not seek reelection in 2018, Watson directed her Twitter followers to a tweet from Louise Mensch that said her “sources” told her there was compromising material, or “kompromat,” on the Utah congressman.

Chaffetz said on Wednesday morning he was confident he would have been “reelected by large margins,” but that he “made a personal decision to return to the private sector.” His decision to make the Wednesday announcement, he says, was to give prospective candidates in Utah “time to lay the groundwork for a successful run.”

Some have speculated that Chaffetz is preparing to run for governor in Utah in 2020.

Watson’s former boss, Hillary Clinton, blamed the Democrats’ November defeat on the “epidemic of malicious fake news” on social media.

Watson, the Free Beacon noted, is “a former spokesperson for David Brock’s Correct the Record super PAC and Hillary Clinton’s failed presidential campaign.”